Photographic shutter control



Aug. 9, 1938.- www A. Yonne. JR

PHOTOGRAPHC SHUTTER C OANTROL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 21, 1936 l 5049 F IG'.1 48\)1 46,

" FIGJZ.

INVENTOR. DArcy-AllfgungJn m max/Mq ATTORNEYS Aug. 9,1938. D'ARCY A. YOUNG. JR 2,126,302

PHOTOGRAPHIFC 'SHUTTER CONTROL Filed oct, 21, 1956 v2 sheets-sheet 2 IT 1l- 45 56 n G45 5o .46445. gg 44 42aj42 2 yg- 2 43 47 48 4 'I m., I E; 1 l 77"--u-- Y f1 .l 63 8 10 57456 .9162 FIG.7.

Patented-Aug. 9, 193s 'v f UNITED STATES- PATENT oFElc 2&126302 PHOTOGRAPHIC SHUTTER CONTROL DAroy A. Young', Jr., Rochester, N. Y., assignor to Eastman Kodak Company, RochestenN. Y., a

corporation of New Jersey Application October 21,

9 Claims.

ject oi my invention is to provide a shutter with 1o separate power drives for opening and closing the shutter, and to provide a means for determining the duration o exposure by a timing mechanism, permitting one spring to function in advance of the other. Still another object of my inventionis to provide a shutter structure in which a timing mechanism for controlling the relative'operation of two power springs consists of a lost motion connection, the duration of the lost motion of which can be regulated. Another object of my invention is to provide a control mechanism vconsisting oi a plurality oi protuberances rotating in timed relation, any one of which may loe engaged by a trip mechanism for controlling the time ci a shutter exposure. Another object of my invention is to provide a shutter of the curtain type in which two shutter members may be driven by two springs, and in which mechanism is included for permitting the operation of one spring in advance of the operation ci the other` spring. .another object of my invention is to provide a curtain shutter with a means for simultaneously setting two power springs andwith a means :for tripping said springs one after the other. Still another object or my invention is to provide a means forvarying the time of exposure through a lost motion connection cornprising a series of rotatable toothed disks, and to provide a means for cooperating with these adapted to trip the shutter closing spring, and other objects will appear from the following specification, the novelv features being particuiarly pointed out in the claims at the end thereof.

As one form oi my invention l have illustrated a shutter which has been constructed for use with stereo cameras in which a pair of objectives are used. However, while the illustrations show a preferred embodiment of my invention in which two shutters are used side by side, my invention '50 is equally useful for a single shutter and camera employing only the more common single objective, since exactly the same control device is used for one shutter as is used for the doubleshutter in the embodiment illustrated herein.

55 Figure 1 is a plan view, partially in section;

1936, serial No. 166,831

(ci. eas-57) Figure 2 is a front elevation of Figure l with parts being shown in section;

Figure 3 is a vertical section on the line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary section on line 4-- 5 of Figure 2;

Figure `il is a top plan of the speed4 scale and index;

Figure 6 is an enlarged plan view of the speed selector mechanism; y, i

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the speed selector stops and other adjacent parts exploded;

Figure d is a detail section on line d--B of Figure 6; to

Figure 9 is a detail section on line 'il-9 of Figure 6; ff"

Figure 10'is a detail section on line lil- 4d of Figure 6, and

Figure l1 is a perspect've view'of a modified 20 detail. y

One of the chief features of my invention is the control mechanism 'which is interposcd'between two latches controlling two power drives, .one drive being adapted to move the shutter 25 members so that the exposure aperture will oe opened, and the other drive being adapted to move the shutter members so that the xposure, aperture will be closed. Thus, l prefer to use two springs, one for opening the shutter and the 3 0 other for closing the shutter, and l prefer to vary the timing of these two springs by a lost motion connection, the duration of which can be altered at will.

In the illustrated embodiment of my invention the shutter members may conveniently be curtains which are commonly used in the socalled focal plane type of shutters.

Since I have shown a shutter housing containing two shutters and two exposure apertures, I 40 wish to point out that the following description refers to one shutter only, except where otherwise specifically stated. The two shutter structures are identical and a description of one will be sufficient for both and is preferable because I also contemplate making a single shutter with exactly the same control mechanism which is illustrated and which, inthe present embodiment of my invention,l is used for both shutters. It is, of course, necessary in stereo shutters to have both give exactly the same exposure.

The operating mechanism of the shutter Iis shown enclosed within a housing or case 20 having a baclr'ZI and top and bottom walls 22 and 23', respectively, and end walls 24 and 25. Means, not 55 illustrated, are provided for mounting the case in or on a camera, and when mounted, the back 2lA is preferably close to the focal plane. Apertures 2O in the back 2| are located in the required positions and concentric with the twin lenses. 'Ihe latter are not shown in the drawings, their positions being merely indicated by broken-line circles at 21.

'Ihecurtains of the shutter are arranged in duplicate to cover the apertures 28 and to pass across said apertures in unison when being wound and when released. The duplicate curtains are preferably spaced apart suiliciently to afford room for the timing selector, which in the drawings is designated broadly bythe letter S". In the following description of the curtains the operation of one applies also to the other, and the various corresponding parts of the duplicate assemblies bear the same reference numerals.

'I'he front curtain 2l is wound on a. roller 28l and on a spring-actuated return roller 3l. This curtain has an aperture 2la. of the same dimensions as aperture 26 in the back wall 2i. The rear curtain 3| is wound on a spring-actuated roller 32 below and in front of the roller I0, and the upper portion of this curtain terminates in tapes 32 which are attached to and wound on drums I4 and 34a, which are fixed to shaftv 35 on which roller 2l is freely revoluble. The tapes also pass over an idler roll 33a.

T'he shaft 35 ,carries a pinion 26 that meshes with'a gear 31 attached to a winding knob Il. When the latter is rotated in the direction indicated in Fig. 2, the shaft 35 turns the drums 34 and 34a and begins to wind up the rear curtain 3i by means of the tapes 33. The drum 34 carries a lug 3l that strikes a similar lug 4l on the roller 2f after the drum 34 has turned a small part of on'e rcvolution,`or a distance sufficient to carry the upper edge of curtain 3| past the upper edge of aperture 25a in the front curtain. Further winding of the knob completes the movement of both curtains to the set position, indicated in Fig. 3. In this position .both the roller 2l and the drums I4 and 54a are urged toward the direction opposite to the arrows in Fig. 2, by torsional coil springs within the rollers ll and 32, as shown at 4I in Figs. 2 and 3. The curtains are held in the wound or set position by a latch 42 (Fig. 6) mounted on a'shaft 43, and which engages a shoulder 44 on the end flange 45 of roller 29.

The shaft 4I and a parallel shaft 4I near the back of the casing 2l carry a series of detents in the form of arms or hooks, some of which are free on these shafts and 'some fixed thereto, as will be described. Shaft 43, hereinafter designated as the detent shaft, is supported on bearings 41, while the shaft 42, or release shaft, may be turned in bearings 4l by downward movement of a release lever 4I that is fixed to said shaft, against the action of a spring 5l.

On the detent shaft 4I and free to turn thereon, is a detent 5I, thehooked rnd 52 of which drops into a notch 52 in the'end flange 54 of drum 34a, to retain the rear curtain in wound"V position (Fig. l0). An extension 5 5 on the detent 5I projects into the path of an arm I8 which is fixed to shaft 44, so that when the lever 49 is depressed, the arms 5l will raiseA the detent 5I and free the hook l2 from the notch l2, thereby permitting the rear curtain Il to be returned to the "unwound" position of Pig. 11.

.Means are presently to be described whereby a slot may be formedl between the`upper edge of the rear curtain Il and the lower edge of the front curtain 28, releasing the latter at a preselected interval after the curtain 3i has started downward to uncover the exposure aperture 2l. One element of said means comprises a hooked trip lever 6U that fits and is slidable on a flattened,

portion Il of shaft 43, although this is a detail of construction that may be modified, and might, for instance, be a spline key or groove and tongue. The trip lever in is slotted at 62 on the upper side of its hub portion, and a pin $3 depending from a crankA arm 64 projects into said slot. The arm B4 is connected to an oppostely extending arm 65, both arms being supported by a bearing 66 so A they may be swung in a. plane parallel to shaft 42.

To accomplish this movement and to causethe lever Gli to assume selected positions, a pin 61 on the arm 65 engages a cam slot 68 in a disc 6! that is close to the top of casing 20. A stub shaft 10, to which said disc is attached, extends through the casing to a selector knob 1I (Figs. 1 and 5)- which carries an index pointer 12 that overlies a circular time scale 13. When the knob 1l is turned to align the index 12 with the selected shutter speed on the scale 13, the cam slot 88 engages the pin 51 and swings the arms 65 and 64' about the bearing center 66, and the pin B3 moves trip lever G0 toward the right or left end of shaft 43.

As before mentioned, lever 60 is arranged to lift or turn with shaft 43, as is also detent 42 which holds iront curtain 28 in wound position by engaging shoulder 44 on the end flange 45 of roller 29. Therefore, if the trip lever 60 is raised a required distance, the shaft 43 is rotated sufiiciently to lift the hooked end of detent 42 over shoulder 44 on flange 45 of roller 29, and the front curtain will be released. I

To provide the required variable lead of the. rear curtain in advance of the beginning of the downward movement of the front curtain, a series of detent actuators are provided to lift the depending end of trip lever 60 at the required time.

'I'hese actuators consist of lugs projecting from the edges of discs `1li, 16, 11, 18 and 19 that are free to revolve on shaft 35 and which lie between one drum 34a on said shaft and a fixed bearing that serves as a guide for one of the tapes 33 in place of a flange on one drum 34a.

'Ihe lug 15a on disc 15 projects laterally into notch 53 in flange 54, so that when fthe hook 52 is'raised out of said notch by the movement of release lever 49 and arm 56, the rotation of drum 54a carries disc 15 around with it. Lug 16a on disc 16 projects into the path of lug 15a, so that after the latter has moved through several degrees of arc the disc 16 begins to turn. Likewise in succession discs 11, 18 and 19 are picked up by the lugs 11a, 18a and 19a of the remaining discs.

Anyone ofthe lugs 15a-19a is adapted to contact the underside of the hooked portion of trip lever 60 and to raise it, thus turning the detent shaft 43, which latter, in turning, raises the detent 42 which is fixed to it and releases the front curtain. The time interval between the release of the rear `and front cur-` tains is determined by the position ,of =trip lever il, and the further to the right (Fig. l) this detent is, the greater will .be the time interval or the wider the shutter slot, due to the cumulative "pickup of the selector discs 15-1l.

On the winding movement of the shutter, the discs 15--19 are circumferentially spaced in given relative positions by successive engagement, first, of the lug 15a by the following edge of notch 52,

Athen engagement of lug lla by a lug 15b on 75 I 2,126,802 disc 16, then engagement of lug fila by lug 16h,

etc. l

Tol permit bulb exposures to be made, it is necessary to release the rear curtain and per.- mit it to'be wound on roller 32, thus fully uncovering apertures 26, and then'to release the front curtain after the desired exposure interval, asdetermined manually by the operator, that is, the operator may depress lever 49, which frees the rear curtain, and when the lever is permitted to return to normal under the iniluence of spring 50, the front curtain will be released.

Means for accomplishing this result comprise a bulb detent 85, the hooked end- 85a of which is adapted to engage a shoulder` 86 in the disc 18, this disc being thicker than the others to afford room for said \shoulder. Detent 85 is normally freed from the shoulder 8,6 `by a light sprin'g 81, although in Fig. 9 it is shown in engagement with said shoulder. This engagement is accomplished by means of a block 88, slideable on release shaft 46 and arranged to turn with said shaft, and having a at extension 89 that is adapted to lie close to the back of detent 85 (Fig. 9) when the block is slid'to the position of Fig. 6. f

The latter movement occursA at nthe extreme end of the counter-clockwise rotation of selector knob il (Fig. at which point a downwardlyz projecting lug 90 on cam disc 69 contacts an upstanding lug 88a on the block 88, moving the latter towardthe left (Fig. 6). When're= leased shaft i6 is turned by depressing lever 49, the extension 89 swings detent 85 so'that the hook 85a bears against the disc 18, and, when the latter has been carried around by the picking of discs l5, 16, and 11, the hook 85a engages shoulder 86.

, Further rotation of the series of selector vdiscs is thus prevented, and as the rear curtainy at this time has moved far enough to uncover aperture 26, the latter remains uncovered until lever 49 is released.

This release movement permits shaft 46 to turn under the influence ofv spring 50, and to swing hook 85a away from shoulder 86. The rear curtain 3i then continues its movement under the influence of its spring 4I, thev disc 'i8 rotates, lug '58a strikes lug 19a, and the,l latter raises the trip `lever 68 and detent 42,

thus permitting the front curtain 28 to bewound on roller 3|! and to again cover aperture 26.

` In Fig. l1 a modied form of selector discs are shown, wherein the various lugs that are adapted to strike and lift detent 68 are ona series'of discs Q5, 96, Si', 98, 9.9, that are pinned at ili to the 'drum 34a so that the drum and disc are in eiect integral. This modification requires the roller 29 to be of such a diameter that one complete revolution thereof will be sufficient to move any: of the lugs on the cylinder from the wound position up to and into contact with the hooked lever 60. Each of the two shutters are identical as to their operation and they are both under the control vof a single releasing and turning device. y

.While 1 have described a preferred embodi-v ment ofA my invention as appliedto a duplex shutter for stereo cameras, it is obviously not limited to .such 'anembodiment being equally useful for the more usual type of cameras utilizing a single objective. In such cases one of the shutters may be omitted, but in either case the control for the two curtains forming one shutter are exactly the same.

` Iv claim:` 1. Inra photographic shutter, the combination,

with Va casing including exposure' aperture ,therein, of shutter members adapted to cover and uncover said exposure apertures, two springs inactive, a tripping device for releasing one latch, a lost motion connection between the first and second latches, said lost motion device comprising a plurality of revolvably mounted Washers each having interengaging lugs whereby one may be turned by another when thelugs are brought into contact, at least some of the washers being provided with tripping lugs, a trip lever adapted to be operated by a tripping lug, and connections between the tripping lever and second latch for operating the latter bythe former whereby one spring is operated after the other so that -the shutter members are positively opened and closed.

2. In a photographic shutter, the combination, with a casing including exposure aperture therein, of shutter members adapted toA cover and uncover said exposure apertures, two Springs connected to the shutter members one for opening the exposure' aperture and the other for closing the aperture, a control device including two latch members adapted to hold the springs ond latch for operating the latter by the former whereby one spring is operated after the other vso that the shutter members are positively opened and closed, and a movable mount for the tripping lever on which the lever may be moved to engage a selected tripping lugto vary the duration of the lost motion between the actuation of the two springs.

3. n aphotographie shutter, the combination, with a casing including exposure aperture therein, of shutter members adapted to cover and uncover said exposure apertures, two springs connected to the shutter members one for opening the exposure aperture and the other for closing the aperture, a control device including two latch members adapted to hold the springs inactive, a tripping device for releasing one latch, a lost motion connection between the first and second latches, said lost motion device comprising a plurality of revolvably mounted washers each having interengaging lugs whereby one may closed, a movable mount for the tripping lever,

means outside of the shutter casing for mov- -ing the tripping lever into position to engage a selected tripping lug whereby the time of exposure may be predetermined.

4. In a photographic shutter, the combination, with a casing including exposure aperture therein. of shutter members adapted to cover and uncover `said exposure apertures, two springs connected to the shutter members one for opening the exposure aperture and the other, for closing the aperture, a control device including two latch members adapted to hold the springs inactive, a tripping device for releasing one latch, a lost motion connection between the first and second latches, said lost motion device comprising a plurality of revolvably mounted washers each having interengaglng lugs whereby one may be turned by another when the lugs are brought into contact, at least some of the washers being provided with tripping lugs, a trip lever adapted to be operated by a tripping lug, and connections between the tripping lever and second latch for operating the latter by the former whereby one spring is operated after the other so that the shutter members are positively opened and closed, a movable mount for the tripping lever, a knob pivotally attached to the outside of the shutter casing and adapted to position the tripping lever to engage a selected tripping lug to determine the time of exposure.

5. In a photographic shutter, the combination, with a casing` including exposure aperture therein, of shuttermembers adapted to cover and uncover said exposure apertures, two springs connected to the shutter members one for open- 1 "ing the exposure aperture and the other for closing the aperture, a control device including two latch members adapted to hold the springs inactive, a tripping device for releasing one latch, a lost motion connection between the first and second latches, said lost motiondevice comprising a plurality of revolubly mounted washers each having interengaging lugs whereby one may be turned by another when the lugs are brought into contact, at least some of the washers being provided with tripping lugs, a trip lever adapted to be operated by a tripping lug, and connections between the tripping `lever and second latch for operating the latter by the former whereby one spring is operated after the other so that the shutterfmembers are positively opened andi closed, a moveable mount for the tripping lever, a knob pivotally attached to the outside of the shutter casing, a cam ca ried by the knob inside of the casing and engaging the trip lever to position it to engage a selected lug to determine the time of exposure.

6. In a photographic shutter, the combination, with a shutter casing having exposure apertures, of shutter members for opening and closing the exposure apertures comprising separate curtains,

a separate power spring for each shutter member, means for simultaneously tensioning both springs, a latch for holding each spring under tension, means to manually trip one latch, means to automatically trip the second latch `including a lost motion device, whereby one latch may be tripped a predetermined time after the `other latch -to produce an exposure, a plurality of rotatably mounted, washers each having a radially projecting lug and each having interengaging lugs whereby each rmay turn independently of the other a predetermined distance and then may turn with the next washer, and means holding the springs against movement, and a lost motion connectionfor controlling the relative operation of the latches, means for tripping one latch manually, said lost' motion connection comprising a shaft, a plurality of lugs extending radially of the shaft, one of said lugs being adapted to turn therewith, said shaft being connected to and controlling the shutter opening spring, a movable member adapted to engage a selected lug, connections between the movable member and -the second latch for tripping the latter after a time interval permitting the shutter closing spring to function.

8. A timing device for shutters including shutter mechanism for opening and closing a shutter aperture and comprising two springs, one for opening the shutter mechanism and the other for closing the shutter `mechanism, latches for holding the springs against movement, and a lost motion connection for controlling the relative operation of the latches, means for tripping one latch manually, said lost motion connection comprising a shaft, a plurality of washers evolvably mounted thereon having interengaging lugs, at least one washer being interconnected with the shutter opening spring, each successive washer being adapted through the interengaging lugs to Abe driven by the driven lug after the lost motion is taken up, a movable member adapted to be' positioned to engage a selected washer lug, and to be operated thereby, connections between the movable number and the closing spring latch for operating the latter by the former, for closing the shutter mechanism, and a setting member for positioning the movable member to vary the duration ot time between the shutter opening and closing.

9. A timing device for shutters including a shutter mechanism for opening and closing a2 shutter aperture and comprising two springs, one for opening the shutter mechanism and the other for closing the shutter mechanism, latches for holding the springs against movement, and a lost motion connection, for controlling the rotative operation of the latches, means for tripping one latch manually, said lost motion connection comprising a shaft, a plurality of rotatably mountedv lugs projecting radially from said shaft, each lug being spaced axially from leach of the other lugs, a member movable axially ofthe shaft and adapted to be positioned for engaging any one ofthe radially and axially spaced lugs vand adapted to be actuated by a lug, connections between the movable member and thev closing spring latch for operating the latter by the former for closing the shutter mechanism, and a setting member for positioning the movable member to vary the duration ,of exposure.

` DARCY A. YOUNG, Jn. 

